News & Events

Schools’ exchanges: The 2018 exchange between the Judd School and the Adolf Reichwein Gymnasium included work experience students. The German students were in Tonbridge from 20–28 April. The return visit to Heusenstamm took place from 8 to 17 June.

The link between the Slade School and the Matthias-Claudius-Schule in Rembrücken continues to develop.

The Haysden Volunteer Group has turned the Heusenstamm Friendship Wood into a bluebell wood by planting 1000s of native bluebell bulbs. The Circle has contributed to this project by providing funding for 2000 bulbs, in the hope that it will encourage more people to visit. Come April, it should be a blaze of colour!

The flower border around the Heusenstamm Relic near Tonbridge Castle is creating a lot of interest from passersby. The Relic, a stone from the old castle in Heusenstamm, was presented to Tonbridge in 1994 on the 10th anniversary of the twinning link. After an initial consultation between Alison Marsden, of Gardening by Design, Debi Simpson of Tonbridge Community Gardeners (TCG) and Eileen Best and Suzannah Niklas of HFC, the garden was laid out and planted by members of TCG, together with pupils of Sevenoaks School’s Voluntary Service Unit and members of HFC. We recently received a donation from the Tonbridge Lions for its upkeep, which has enabled us to hire a professional gardener, who took over the care of the garden from our original volunteers in the autumn of 2017. To see photos of the progress of the border, click here . This gallery will be updated regularly.

Dates for your diary:

2019 - Triennial choir exchange between the Tonbridge Philharmonic Society and the Evangelische Kantorei in Heusenstamm. The concert, which will include Brahms’ Deutsches Requiem (sung in German) will take place in Tonbridge on 30 March and in Heusenstamm on 16 June. Well worth supporting one or the other (or both!).

4 - 8 June 2020: the next joint holiday will be in 2020, in the Isle of Wight. Arrangements are already progressing, so watch this space for more information in due course.